[valentine]

 I’d like to hear your thoughts on who you believe are the best and worst basketball journalists. 

Best Writer for serious content is David Aldridge from NBA.com. I think he has great understanding of basketball and tries to be rational and informative as opposed to sensationalist. 

Honourable Mention: Bill Simmons. I guess you either love him or hate him, but he comes up with some clever, abstract ideas about the game and his Grantland articles are very funny. He’s very creative and is easy to relate to as a fan. Plus he’s a human hype machine. 

 

Worst Writer: I gotta go with Charley Rosen on Hoopshype or Adrian Woj from yahoo sports. I have no faith in Woj’s "sources" and whilst I can’t prove it, I suspect he BS’s some of his stories (eg Embiid coming out). I’m not calling him a fraud….I just don’t believe him to be as well connected as he takes credit for. 

I find Charley Rosen has a huge difference between his best and worst. Charley’s worst is terrible, and is usually followed by the comments blasting all the errors he’s made. 

 

Who you got?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 From strictly a reporting stand point I don’t really see anybody more consistent than Adrian Woj.  He never spouts off false stuff seeing how everything he "cites" ends up coming true?  In order for his stories to be suspect he would need to be wrong and he rarely is, whether you believe his sources or not, his sources are usually right so I give props to Woj.  He definitely seperates himself from someone like Chris Broussard who constantly cites sources on bogus stuff he clearly makes up to get more plug on ESPN.  How he still has a job is beyond me, when was the last time he contributed something of substance with empirical evidence to back it up, in fact I would go as far as to say he doesn’t even know what empirical means.  He by far takes the cake as the worst writer/commentator/analyst/reporter around.  He is still riding the wave of his Lebron decision announcement as he was the first one to break that, how I have no idea.

Ira Winderman is a complete Heat homer, can’t stand the guy.

Chris Sheridan I also cannot stand, he really needs somebody to proof read his stuff because he is constantly making stats up to prove whatever off the wall point he is trying to make.  He is the definition of making up "sources" to get visits to his webpage which I have no respect for.

Some of my favorites are the Grantland crew, The basketball insiders such as Eric Pincus, Alex Kennedy etc.  Though some of the basketball insiders I do not like, Steven Kyler, Bill Ingram… too much homerism for me.  I like reading objective reporters.  The only homer I can stand is Bill Simmons and that is only because I have been reading the sports guy for the better part of about 15 years.

 

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 From strictly a reporting stand point I don’t really see anybody more consistent than Adrian Woj.  He never spouts off false stuff seeing how everything he "cites" ends up coming true?  In order for his stories to be suspect he would need to be wrong and he rarely is, whether you believe his sources or not, his sources are usually right so I give props to Woj.  He definitely seperates himself from someone like Chris Broussard who constantly cites sources on bogus stuff he clearly makes up to get more plug on ESPN.  How he still has a job is beyond me, when was the last time he contributed something of substance with empirical evidence to back it up, in fact I would go as far as to say he doesn’t even know what empirical means.  He by far takes the cake as the worst writer/commentator/analyst/reporter around.  He is still riding the wave of his Lebron decision announcement as he was the first one to break that, how I have no idea.

Ira Winderman is a complete Heat homer, can’t stand the guy.

Chris Sheridan I also cannot stand, he really needs somebody to proof read his stuff because he is constantly making stats up to prove whatever off the wall point he is trying to make.  He is the definition of making up "sources" to get visits to his webpage which I have no respect for.

Some of my favorites are the Grantland crew, The basketball insiders such as Eric Pincus, Alex Kennedy etc.  Though some of the basketball insiders I do not like, Steven Kyler, Bill Ingram… too much homerism for me.  I like reading objective reporters.  The only homer I can stand is Bill Simmons and that is only because I have been reading the sports guy for the better part of about 15 years.

 

 

 

[MettaWorldDurant1Participant]

Hes the most interesting writer to me.

[MettaWorldDurant1Participant]

Hes the most interesting writer to me.

[TFCParticipant]

 Zach Lowe is a good one

[TFCParticipant]

 Zach Lowe is a good one

[OrserParticipant]

 I like Zach Lowe of Grantland because he a)understands most of the advanced statistics, b)actually watches a lot of basketball (which I don’t think you can say about every stats guy), and c)translates that knowledge into very good journalism that’s fun to read but also illuminating. I like Bill Simmons, but imo the best thing about Simmons was hiring Lowe (and Kirk Goldsberry, whose shot charts are really cool).

I don’t have strong negative opinions about anyone, but the other day I read one of ESPN’s five-on-five features and I disagreed with everything that Brian Windhorst said. What I disagreed with most was when he said that the KG-Pierce trade was "obviously a huge win for the Nets" when there’s a good chance that that trade could keep the Nets mediocre from about 2015 to 2019.

[OrserParticipant]

 I like Zach Lowe of Grantland because he a)understands most of the advanced statistics, b)actually watches a lot of basketball (which I don’t think you can say about every stats guy), and c)translates that knowledge into very good journalism that’s fun to read but also illuminating. I like Bill Simmons, but imo the best thing about Simmons was hiring Lowe (and Kirk Goldsberry, whose shot charts are really cool).

I don’t have strong negative opinions about anyone, but the other day I read one of ESPN’s five-on-five features and I disagreed with everything that Brian Windhorst said. What I disagreed with most was when he said that the KG-Pierce trade was "obviously a huge win for the Nets" when there’s a good chance that that trade could keep the Nets mediocre from about 2015 to 2019.

[BajeebzParticipant]

I’m in my mid-twenties, and I grew up reading Simmons. I remember first seeing his columns on ESPN maybe 13 years ago when I was probably in 8th or 9th grade. It was like finding Jesus in my heart. I would laugh my ass off reading his columns. These days Simmons kind of gets a bad wrap for perhaps being overexposed. I mean, he runs grantland.com, does the BS report, writes columns, and works on TV doing basketball analysis. So maybe we’re all a little sick of his Simmons-isms. But for the all the haters out there who can’t stand the Sports Guy, I want you to remember back when he was in his prime. Before the kids, before grantland, before the BS Report–back on ESPN Page 2, when it was just Simmons doing his thing, trying to make it big. That guy was awesome.

[doubledribblerParticipant]

Simmons is like a lot of people in entertainment. Their best stuff is usually what first get out there. They put all their energy and creativity into one thing and to succeed. He was a great read back in the day. Today, he has his moments, but they are few and far in between.

Now he repeats a lot of the same themes and topics. It is like an old person retelling the same story that they told you a few weeks ago. I think he is content and he knows he is getting paid so he probably doesn’t have a ton of motivation. He runs a lot of stuff, but I think most of it is mediocre outside of the 30 for 30 stuff, but even that is basically Outside the Lines looking back at the past, with a bigger budget and in more of a documentary form. ESPN/ABC/Disney has huge pockets and lots of people willing to work with them so I would say a lot of it runs itself at this point.

With that said, I like Lowe. He has always been solid. He doesn’t really entertain you, but he doesn’t bore you either and he knows his basketball. I am glad he is getting more exposure since he made the move to ESPN.

[doubledribblerParticipant]

Simmons is like a lot of people in entertainment. Their best stuff is usually what first get out there. They put all their energy and creativity into one thing and to succeed. He was a great read back in the day. Today, he has his moments, but they are few and far in between.

Now he repeats a lot of the same themes and topics. It is like an old person retelling the same story that they told you a few weeks ago. I think he is content and he knows he is getting paid so he probably doesn’t have a ton of motivation. He runs a lot of stuff, but I think most of it is mediocre outside of the 30 for 30 stuff, but even that is basically Outside the Lines looking back at the past, with a bigger budget and in more of a documentary form. ESPN/ABC/Disney has huge pockets and lots of people willing to work with them so I would say a lot of it runs itself at this point.

With that said, I like Lowe. He has always been solid. He doesn’t really entertain you, but he doesn’t bore you either and he knows his basketball. I am glad he is getting more exposure since he made the move to ESPN.

[BajeebzParticipant]

I’m in my mid-twenties, and I grew up reading Simmons. I remember first seeing his columns on ESPN maybe 13 years ago when I was probably in 8th or 9th grade. It was like finding Jesus in my heart. I would laugh my ass off reading his columns. These days Simmons kind of gets a bad wrap for perhaps being overexposed. I mean, he runs grantland.com, does the BS report, writes columns, and works on TV doing basketball analysis. So maybe we’re all a little sick of his Simmons-isms. But for the all the haters out there who can’t stand the Sports Guy, I want you to remember back when he was in his prime. Before the kids, before grantland, before the BS Report–back on ESPN Page 2, when it was just Simmons doing his thing, trying to make it big. That guy was awesome.

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

Chris Broussard is absolutely garbage at his job. That includes reporting, being an analyst, interviews, and whatever else ESPN has him do. His "sources" are always wrong. I don’t know how he gets so much airtime, but I really can’t stand the guy. If you remember back to LeBron’s decision, he actually went on air late the night before and said he was told he was going to sign with the Knicks, then came on again to change that and say he was going to sign with Miami.

 

Woj is the best at breaking news.

Best writers are Zach Lowe at Grantland, David Aldridge nba.com, & Marc Spears at yahoo!

I also like Ken Berger at CBS, Alex Kennedy & Eric Pincus of basketball insiders & Sam Amick from USA today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

Chris Broussard is absolutely garbage at his job. That includes reporting, being an analyst, interviews, and whatever else ESPN has him do. His "sources" are always wrong. I don’t know how he gets so much airtime, but I really can’t stand the guy. If you remember back to LeBron’s decision, he actually went on air late the night before and said he was told he was going to sign with the Knicks, then came on again to change that and say he was going to sign with Miami.

 

Woj is the best at breaking news.

Best writers are Zach Lowe at Grantland, David Aldridge nba.com, & Marc Spears at yahoo!

I also like Ken Berger at CBS, Alex Kennedy & Eric Pincus of basketball insiders & Sam Amick from USA today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ghost01Participant]

Every writer is a little bit different. In terms of reporting and getting stories, Wojnarowski is the best. He breaks a lot of stories, always is spot on and never leaks bs. He is also a very good writer.

In terms of breaking down scheme and tactical stuff, Zach Lowe is the best. He breaks so many different things down and really explains why teams are doing certain things and what they mean. Has an intelligent understanding of what truly matters on the basketball court.

And as mentioned above, Chris Broussard sucks. Tweets out vague crap rumors to try to get page views, has never had an interesting story, I remember he had some story about Melo and the Bulls and didn’t even go over how difficult/near impossible it will be for the Bulls to carve the cap to sign him, and on top of that is apart of some creepy anti-gay ministry that just rounds out his suckage. 

 

[Ghost01Participant]

Every writer is a little bit different. In terms of reporting and getting stories, Wojnarowski is the best. He breaks a lot of stories, always is spot on and never leaks bs. He is also a very good writer.

In terms of breaking down scheme and tactical stuff, Zach Lowe is the best. He breaks so many different things down and really explains why teams are doing certain things and what they mean. Has an intelligent understanding of what truly matters on the basketball court.

And as mentioned above, Chris Broussard sucks. Tweets out vague crap rumors to try to get page views, has never had an interesting story, I remember he had some story about Melo and the Bulls and didn’t even go over how difficult/near impossible it will be for the Bulls to carve the cap to sign him, and on top of that is apart of some creepy anti-gay ministry that just rounds out his suckage. 

 

[Land of GrantParticipant]

Lowe and Simmons are awesome. Lowe is more comprehensive and concise, but Simmons is more unique in his approach (eg homerism, "theories", and humor). I also like Michael Wilbon, although he doesn’t always write about basketball. Chad Ford is good, too, but is dragged down by the garbage surrounding him.

Most of the ESPN.Com guys honestly are garbage. Myron Medcalf, Brian Windhorst, Tom Haberstroh, and Jeff Goodman, terrible at their jobs. 

I also am not a fan of some of these new stats guys, particularly Kevin Pelton, who’s always using his weird model to make dumb points (a couple gems from last week: Shabazz Napier is the 5th best player in the draft, Frank Kaminsky is just outside the top 10 players in the draft).

The stats guys are good though when they explain their models and don’t jump to conclusions, though. Kirk Goldsberry on Grantland is an example.

 

 

 

 

 

[Land of GrantParticipant]

Lowe and Simmons are awesome. Lowe is more comprehensive and concise, but Simmons is more unique in his approach (eg homerism, "theories", and humor). I also like Michael Wilbon, although he doesn’t always write about basketball. Chad Ford is good, too, but is dragged down by the garbage surrounding him.

Most of the ESPN.Com guys honestly are garbage. Myron Medcalf, Brian Windhorst, Tom Haberstroh, and Jeff Goodman, terrible at their jobs. 

I also am not a fan of some of these new stats guys, particularly Kevin Pelton, who’s always using his weird model to make dumb points (a couple gems from last week: Shabazz Napier is the 5th best player in the draft, Frank Kaminsky is just outside the top 10 players in the draft).

The stats guys are good though when they explain their models and don’t jump to conclusions, though. Kirk Goldsberry on Grantland is an example.

 

 

 

 

 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I don’t like NBA.com writers except dor David Aldridge (who lools impartial) and John Schuhmann (providing good analysis). All the others look like riding the bandwagon of whoever is hot at the moment and the arguments they use are rather poor.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I don’t like NBA.com writers except dor David Aldridge (who lools impartial) and John Schuhmann (providing good analysis). All the others look like riding the bandwagon of whoever is hot at the moment and the arguments they use are rather poor.

[CavsFan07Participant]

Mike Wilbon is my favorite, just doesn’t write often.

Sam Amick, David Aldridge after him. Adrian Woj the best at reporting news. 

 

[CavsFan07Participant]

Mike Wilbon is my favorite, just doesn’t write often.

Sam Amick, David Aldridge after him. Adrian Woj the best at reporting news. 

 

[SpartanGloryParticipant]

 Um Scoop Jackson? He just wrote an article a comparing McDermott to Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, and ANTHONY DAVIS. He was writing about why McDermott should be the top freaking pick!! There is no one more idiotic than that I’m sorry.

[Rip255]

haha I had to read this story cos I originally called BS on it. But its actually true. He says he’ll be the next kevin love too. Outrageous! 

[Rip255]

haha I had to read this story cos I originally called BS on it. But its actually true. He says he’ll be the next kevin love too. Outrageous! 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 I would have said Scoop Jackson too and was definitely thinking of him, I just hadn’t seen a story in so long for him I figured people finally wised up and realized he is a complete idiot who doesn’t know what he was talking about lol…. as he further proves that point with that article.

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 I would have said Scoop Jackson too and was definitely thinking of him, I just hadn’t seen a story in so long for him I figured people finally wised up and realized he is a complete idiot who doesn’t know what he was talking about lol…. as he further proves that point with that article.

[SpartanGloryParticipant]

 Um Scoop Jackson? He just wrote an article a comparing McDermott to Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, and ANTHONY DAVIS. He was writing about why McDermott should be the top freaking pick!! There is no one more idiotic than that I’m sorry.

[MadDogParticipant]

Sekou Smith, David Aldridge and Steve Kerr (although he doesn’t write often) are some of my favourites. The vast majority of BR writers are god awful.

[MadDogParticipant]

Sekou Smith, David Aldridge and Steve Kerr (although he doesn’t write often) are some of my favourites. The vast majority of BR writers are god awful.

[KingoftheOceanCourtParticipant]

Since Zach Lowe has already been mentioned: 

I don’t know if they technically count as writers, but the guys who do The Basketball Jones/The Starters have a great podcast, and their blog is great too.

[KingoftheOceanCourtParticipant]

Since Zach Lowe has already been mentioned: 

I don’t know if they technically count as writers, but the guys who do The Basketball Jones/The Starters have a great podcast, and their blog is great too.

[TRC1991Participant]

Jemele Hill is the worst. End of story. 

[TRC1991Participant]

Jemele Hill is the worst. End of story. 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Skip Bayless is the worst sports writer. All he does is exagurate consensus beliefs and make it seem like a big deal. I dont even think he watches basketball. Anytime I see Skip on TV I turn the channel because nothing he ever says is creative or original and most of it is negative critisism where as he could make the exact same points giving off constructive critisism.

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Skip Bayless is the worst sports writer. All he does is exagurate consensus beliefs and make it seem like a big deal. I dont even think he watches basketball. Anytime I see Skip on TV I turn the channel because nothing he ever says is creative or original and most of it is negative critisism where as he could make the exact same points giving off constructive critisism.

 

[Ghost01Participant]

But remember… LeBron has won back to back titles, and Tim Tebow is out of football, but Skip has "never lost an argument". 

[Ghost01Participant]

But remember… LeBron has won back to back titles, and Tim Tebow is out of football, but Skip has "never lost an argument". 

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 Craig Saiger best dressed!! 

No serious

Best: David Aldridge is a beast, he should be in the HOF one day for a basketball writer (if that’s possible) 

Worst: Chris Bossuard, his info is never correct. 

 

 

 

 

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 Craig Saiger best dressed!! 

No serious

Best: David Aldridge is a beast, he should be in the HOF one day for a basketball writer (if that’s possible) 

Worst: Chris Bossuard, his info is never correct. 

 

 

 

 

[jmarg25Participant]

Some of the writers on Bleacher Report are just bad. Really bad.

[jmarg25Participant]

Some of the writers on Bleacher Report are just bad. Really bad.

[HaleParticipant]

Bill Simmons is my favorite. He tends to get homerish and lazy at times but when he’s on his game he’s incredible. The Book of Basketball was an amazing read, his mailbags are great and when he puts the time in his articles are top notch. Not to mention he’s so random with all his non-sports analogies and comparisons that it makes everything he writes more fun.

[HaleParticipant]

Bill Simmons is my favorite. He tends to get homerish and lazy at times but when he’s on his game he’s incredible. The Book of Basketball was an amazing read, his mailbags are great and when he puts the time in his articles are top notch. Not to mention he’s so random with all his non-sports analogies and comparisons that it makes everything he writes more fun.

[Author]

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